Possible Long-Term Survival Offered By Resection Of Solid-Pseudopapillary Tumor Of The Pancreas

Main Category: GastroIntestinal / Gastroenterology
Also Included In: Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 14 Mar 2008 - 5:00 PDT

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The article published in volume 14 issue 6 of World Journal of Gastroenterology reports on one patient who presented to Dr Cosimo Sperti of University of Padua, Padova, Italy, in 2001 after an exploratory laparotomy performed in another hospital for an unresectable pancreatic cystic mass that had infiltrated the portal vein. Total pancreatectomy together with resection and reconstruction of portal vein was then successfully performed. Histopathologic examination showed a solid-pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas infiltrating the layer of the portal vein.

Thirty-two months later, multiple hepatic metastases occurred. Percutaneous biopsy confirmed hepatic localization of solid-pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas. The patient underwent multiple chemotherapeutic regimens that have resulted in a substantially stable disease until the present time, 75 months after the initial pancreatic resection.

To better understand the impact of surgery and chemotherapy on the prognosis of this rare tumor, Dr. Cosimo Sperti reviewed 25 patients from medical English literature with infiltrating solid-pseudopapillary neoplasm of the pancreas. Treatment of metastatic disease was also analyzed.

On the basis of the present case and the published literature, Dr. Cosimo Sperti has proposed the indications of aggressive surgery, whenever possible, even in advanced tumors, and in centers with high volume of pancreatic surgery. Although standard chemo-radiotherapeutic regimens do not exist, a multimodality approach (i.e. surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy) may offer long-term survival prospects even in dealing with advanced tumors.

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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Reference: Sperti C, Berselli M, Pasquali C, Pastorelli D, Pedrazzoli S. Aggressive behaviour of solid-pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas in adults: A case report and review of the literature. World J Gastroenterol 2008; 14(6): 960-965 http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/14/960.asp

Correspondence to: Cosimo Sperti, MD, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Clinica Chirurgica IV, University of Padua, Via Giustiniani 2, Padua 35128, Italy

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World Journal of Gastroenterology (WJG), a leading international journal in gastroenterology and hepatology, has established a reputation for publishing first class research on esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, liver cancer, viral hepatitis, colorectal cancer, and H pylori infection for providing a forum for both clinicians and scientists. WJG has been indexed and abstracted in Current Contents/Clinical Medicine, Science Citation Index Expanded (also known as SciSearch) and Journal Citation Reports/Science Edition, Index Medicus, MEDLINE and PubMed, Chemical Abstracts, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, Abstracts Journals, Nature Clinical Practice Gastroenterology and Hepatology, CAB Abstracts and Global Health. ISI JCR 2003-2000 IF: 3.318, 2.532, 1.445 and 0.993. WJG is a weekly journal published by WJG Press. The publication dates are the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th day of every month. The WJG is supported by The National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 30224801 and No. 30424812, and was founded with the name of China National Journal of New Gastroenterology on October 1, 1995, and renamed WJG on January 25, 1998.

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Source: Jing Zhu
World Journal of Gastroenterology